Cited by 140Cellular Mechanics and InteractionsForce Microscopy Techniques and ApplicationsMicrotubule and mitosis dynamics

Mechanotransduction by the Actin Cytoskeleton: Converting Mechanical Stimuli into Biochemical Signals

Harris, Andrew R., Jreij, Pamela, Fletcher, Daniel A.·2018·Annual Review of Biophysics

Abstract

Force transmission through the actin cytoskeleton plays a central role in cell movements, shape change, and internal organization. Dynamic reorganization of actin filaments by an array of specialized binding proteins creates biochemically and architecturally distinct structures, many of which are finely tuned to exert or resist mechanical loads. The molecular complexity of the actin cytoskeleton continues to be revealed by detailed biochemical assays, and the architectural diversity and dynamics of actin structures are being uncovered by advances in super-resolution fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy. However, our understanding of how mechanical forces feed back on cytoskeletal architecture and actin-binding protein organization is comparatively limited. In this review, we discuss recent work investigating how mechanical forces applied to cytoskeletal proteins are transduced into biochemical signals. We explore multiple mechanisms for mechanical signal transduction, including the mechanosensitive behavior of actin-binding proteins, the effect of mechanical force on actin filament dynamics, and the influence of mechanical forces on the structure of single actin filaments. The emerging picture is one in which the actin cytoskeleton is defined not only by the set of proteins that constitute a network but also by the constant interplay of mechanical forces and biochemistry.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1146/annurev-biophys-070816-033547

Cites

101 of 101 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Harris, A. R., Jreij, P., & Fletcher, D. A.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Berkeley (US)
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US)
Venue
Annual Review of Biophysics
Published
2018-05-20
Volume
47
Issue
1
Pages
617-631
ISSN
  • 1936-122X (ISSN-L)
  • 1936-1238
OpenAlex
W2803134496
Cited by
140
References
101
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 3
FWCI
1.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Annual Review of Biophysics (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Cellular Mechanics and Interactions
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Microtubule and mitosis dynamics
Keywords
mechanotransduction, actin cytoskeleton, mechanical forces, actin-binding proteins, actin filament dynamics, actin filament structure, force transmission, mechanical signal transduction, cytoskeletal structure, cell mechanics

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review